Widening a Snow blower (not wings)

[ericher69]

I bought a 76" John Deere blower for my tractor. It was used but in good shape; cost me $750 (in Canada).

Why not buy a bigger used unit and keep the smaller one as a back up unit?

Have been looking for 2 winters now and Nothing used in 63" width

It is a quick hitch model that only fits kubota front mount

Will keep looking but no luck so far

 

[crazyal]

On a blower that drive the auger with a worm gear in front of the impeller you would probably need to buy parts. But if your blower is one that the auger is driven off of a side chain then I would just widen everything myself. The auger spins at a low speed. If it's got a little wobble it wouldn't matter as long as it doesn't rub (or come close) on anything. The parallel shaft that comes off the gear box that drives the chain could be replaced vs spliced as it spins faster.

 

[ericher69]

On a blower that drive the auger with a worm gear in front of the impeller you would probably need to buy parts. But if your blower is one that the auger is driven off of a side chain then I would just widen everything myself. The auger spins at a low speed. If it's got a little wobble it wouldn't matter as long as it doesn't rub (or come close) on anything. The parallel shaft that comes off the gear box that drives the chain could be replaced vs spliced as it spins faster.

Yeah it's worm gear driven

Attached is a picture of the blower

As you can see its all flat pieces so I believe it could easily be accomplished

 

[crazyal]

I had to replace the shear pin on the gear inside the worm gear housing on a walk behind blower. The shaft both augers mount to was one solid piece and was plated or chromed so it wouldn't rust (maybe stainless as it was an early 70's model). It had a shear bolt for each auger (that someone replaced with grade 8 bolts) that went through the center of the auger shaft.

If your's is the same style, augers will spin on the auger shaft unless the shear bolts are in place then I would just get a new shaft and lengthen each auger (unless cheap). But to do so you'll need a plasma cutter to make two rings that can be used for the auger.

You could cut each auger in half (may want to do it in a place where you still can drill a new hole for the shear bolt through the original steel tube) and then use the old shaft to align both halves. Just take the rings, make a cut into them and then open them up to match the pitch of the auger. Weld the ring onto one side of the auger and then slide it onto the shaft. Then slide the other auger onto the shaft, set the width you want, and you can mark the other end of the ring where it needs to be cut. Then slide everything back onto the shaft with a splice centered over the gap in the tubes, set the exact width you want, and weld everything together. What do you have to loose?

 

[herringchoker]

Check out here how rbargeron widened his blower:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/188047-erskine-front-snowblower-modification.html

 

[ericher69]

Check out here how rbargeron widened his blower:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachments/188047-erskine-front-snowblower-modification.html

Thanks for the link

Pretty much what I want to do

 

[kiotiken]

I bought a 76" John Deere blower for my tractor. It was used but in good shape; cost me $750 (in Canada).

Why not buy a bigger used unit and keep the smaller one as a back up unit?

Are you using a 76" blower with your CT230? If so, how does it handle deeper snow and drifts? I'm looking for a good deal on a used blower for my CK30, but I was told 60"-68" was as big as the tractor will handle.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I guess I don't understand why wings would not accomplish the same thing yet be less costly and lower risk. Seems to me that once the snow enters the box the existing augers would push it to the center.

 

[ericher69]

I guess I don't understand why wings would not accomplish the same thing yet be less costly and lower risk. Seems to me that once the snow enters the box the existing augers would push it to the center.

Simply because I like things to be clean and I do not want it to look like an afterthought!

Also with wings you always risk bending something

 

[GPintheMitten]

Simply because I like things to be clean and I do not want it to look like an afterthought!

Also with wings you always risk bending something

It certainly is your call. I was trying to learn why it wouldn't work. So from what you say, it would work for someone else if it was fabbed strong enough not to bend.

I look forward to watching your project. It sounds like you have a good plan and the skills to pull it off.